DotNetNuke (DNN) – CMS

The main reason for choosing Joomla or Drupal over DNN is the licensing costs of Linux, Apache, MySql, and PHP together, called LAMP, which is free. The other option is a Windows Server OS and SQL Server, which is costly to get a SQL Server enterprise license if the application is to be hosted in house. Hosting costs are slightly higher in a web hosting environment, although still reasonable.

Joomla is much less intuitive and administrative-friendly than DNN, which we use for module creation. It performs much better in terms of IDE, RAD, and the skinning is more flexible. Visual Studio, which is the IDE for DNN, is almost a developer’s dream. So why do we not use DNN more often than other CMSs? Well, it all boils down to our client’s budget.

Why DNN?

DotNetNuke is very easy to use. End users can learn to post content to their website in minutes. The simple yet powerful page editing tools let end users modify content without IT support.

The granular security model allows system administrators to precisely define website access for end users at the site, page, or module level. Users can access the right content for their contributions yet have no access to modify the rest of the website. This provides end users with considerable freedom to modify content yet limited access to the overall web site.

DNN Pros

The main thing to keep in mind is that if you choose DNN, you’re starting with a Framework (built for making web applications), which has CMS features. This means a whole lot of stuff is already done for you. DotNetNuke is an open source project, with a very active team of developers and a large community of resources and users worldwide. The core application is available to download for free, and there are many add-in modules for free or for purchase.

DNN is super user-friendly!

Maintain portal content without any web page development applications.

It is easy for anyone to update or maintain content. No technical skills required!

Easy to add modules for content. (See the long list of modules available!)

Secure all or part of your Portal from public viewing.

Create groups of users with different levels of access control.

Enable public or private conversations with such tools as forums or chat rooms.

Easily change the layout and colors of your Portal without changing content!

Skinning is independent from the content, so if you decide to change the layout, there is no need to rebuild the site, just load a new “skin”.

Implement an advanced dynamic website in very little time.

Launch and manage a Portal without the expense of custom IT development!

DNN Cons

There are not too many cons that come to mind, as this may be the best open source CMS out there. Yet, here are a few things to consider:

If a module doesn’t exist, it takes in-depth .NET knowledge to develop a custom module.

Upgrading to newer versions can be difficult and time-consuming.

DNN requires a Windows environment and an IIS web server.

DNN Performance

Typically, DotNetNuke performs very well compared to the PHP counterparts. However, performance may be enhaced by optimizing SiteLog and EventLog tables. We would simply delete old and unnecessary records from these tables. Other performance enhancements could be achieved by tweaking the server configuration a bit.

DNN The Ultimate Solution

We like DotNetNuke over any other open source CMS. It’s fast and the most user-friendly. As developers, we love Microsoft’s amazing creation of the IDE Visual Studio, which we use to work on DotNetNuke codes. If you do not mind a slightly higher hosting fee, this would be the best way to go for your website. Ultimately, the decision is yours.

Recent Comments

Recently I needed a HTML5 interactive animation app for a trade-show booth. I had a very hard time finding a company who could do what I needed. The ones who could asked for very high rates until I found DTW. They did an amazing job though there were some little caveats which is to be expected as not all browsers render HTML5 the same way. Delivered App was great for our purpose however. Customer service relations was good and professional throughout the process. Highly recommend these talented guys.read more

Lisa R. Crippen

14:31 05 Jul 17

I have a Magento website to sell bread and desserts online. As my bakery only deliver to certain areas we needed a custom extension to handle our delivery system/charges. My original developer built the site okay but failed to customise it according to my specific needs. I looked high and low and found DTW team. So far they have well exceeded my expectations. Highly recommend DTW to Magento website owners.read more

james joe

20:27 07 Apr 17

Our Wordpress site got hacked a couple weeks ago and our webhost suspended the website because of malware. A good friend referred us to DTW and we are glad that he did. DTW downloaded the infected site, upgraded the wp version then pulled the theme and database out of the wp install and put in a new install of Wordpress to make sure there are no hidden hack codes anywhere and all in a very little time and budget. They have earned our loyalty.read more

Edward Bennett

03:14 05 Apr 17

I run a small home-renovation company. I have a little bit of programming knowledge so I had built a Wordpress website myself and installed some plugins. Site was not too bad. However, I soon figured out I could not get the plugins to do exactly what I need and my programming skill was not good enough to write a custom plugin myself. So I Googled for Wordpress web developers and I found DTW. They built me a custom plugin that helps my employees log their time into the system so I can send out invoices to customers through emails. They also helped me to speed up the site load-time. Even though I never met with the team in person, they were in constant communication through email, phone and web conferences throughout the development process. I am very happy with them and highly recommend to anyone who needs help with their Wordpress websites. I will get my Quickbooks plugin built by them as soon as I can create a budget for it. Thank you DTW.read more

Frank William

06:20 10 Jan 17

I run a small printing company and initially hired a company from China to add an online printing price calculator to our website. After trying to deliver for months they failed is when I hired DTW to do the same task plus to put our entire static website in Drupal as my research said it would be the best CMS for such demanding work. DTW has made us a mobile responsive website that does the calculation according to the formula I provided them with perfectly! It took longer than anticipated as the price calculating formula was much more complex than it looked also as we changed the formula quite a bit along the way but we are very happy with the outcome. I highly recommend DTW for any custom mathematical widget or extension for Drupal.read more

Dutch Bildrman

08:23 05 Sep 17

I am a skilled tradesman and normally, I get all my business through referrals. Since I don't get a lot of my customers asking to see samples of my previous work, I thought it may be best to put them on a website so I can show them to the refers as well as maybe get some new business. I found DTW by searching on Google. I contacted a gentleman named Ray who was a tremendous help. Not only did they built me a nice but inexpensive Wordpress website, Ray also took the time to teach me how to market myself over the Internet. I was previously clueless as to how it all worked. Very helpful guys! Two thumbs up!read more

Sharon Brown

17:47 29 Aug 17

Design Toronto web is totally rad. We have an old Joomla 1.5 site that uses a web service to acquire current rates from a local bank API. We needed to add couple more dynamic pages to the site but to our surprise, first few companies we hired failed to deliver. Turns out it's not such a simple task after all like we thought and php version used being obsolete adds to the complexity so only very few well qualified companies could do these type of work. We found among the few companies we contacted that the Design Toronto Web team was the most affordable. They completed the task successfully and on time. We will be engaging their services for sure when we want to upgrade our Joomla version to the latest one. They are top of the line and I'll recommend them any time of day!read more

Angel Marina

05:39 03 Dec 16

DTW team is really good. My site was seriously outdated and used a very old version of Joomla, however, had quite a few custom extensions to display custom data that I have collected over years. DTW developers upgraded Joomla to the latest and upgraded all the extensions including the custom ones. Throughout the project they communicated the issues with me very well. Thanks to have found this team of Joomla experts. They have earned my loyalty.read more

Charles Williams

22:42 29 Jul 19

Working with the Design Toronto Web has been a most pleasant experience! Their dedication and passion for what they do is exemplified by their unrivaled customer support and attentiveness to the specific needs of our business. We look forward to a long lasting and prosperous relationship with Design Toronto Web.read more

Richard Sullivan

09:56 30 Jul 19

"Whenever we’ve had ideas, they do some research and come up with a solution that better fits my business." ..."